Automatic brake



J. E. STlEGELMEYER.

AUTOMATIC BRAKE APPLYING SAFETY VALVE.

APPLICATION FlLED AUG.23. 191s.

Patented June 10, 1919.

HUX/L/HHY RESERVOIR brake test, but suppose the train man for JOHN E. STIEGELMEYER, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

AUTOMATIC BRAKE-APPLYING SAFETY-VALVE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 1 0, 1919.

Application filed August 23, 1918. Serial No. 251,190.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN E. STIEGEL- MEYER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Indianapolis, in the county of Marion and State of Indiana, have invented a new and useful Automatic Brake-A plying Safety-Valve, of which the following is a specification.

In the ordinary use of air brakes, it is possible that conditions may arise rendering temporarily inoperative the brakes of some or all of the cars in a train, in such manner that those brakes cannot be applied to their wheels by the operation of the regular triple valve. For instance, if an engineer is setting out the tenth car from the middle of a train. Under such conditions, the train man will close the train line cocks at the rear end of the ninth car and at the front end of the eleventh car. The train will then be uncoupled between the tenth and eleventh cars and the tenth car set on the side-track. If the crew obeys orders, the train line cocks which have been closed will be opened when the ninth and eleventh cars are coupled together, and the engineer will make the usual gets to open the train line cock of the ninth car and the train proceeds. Under those circumstances, the brakes of all of the cars back of the ninth have been released and rendered inoperative.

There are other instances which will readily suggest themselves to those familiar with the art, where brakes in some cars'may become inactive, as, for instance, by reason of a lapped brake valve, a stopping of the pump, etc.

The object of my'present invention is to produce a simple, efficient device which may be readily installed at the rear of a train and which will automatically set all of the brakes in a train in that portion of the train line in which a drop of pressure takes place from any cause, if that drop of pressure passes below a fixed minimum which is less than the pressure to which the train line pressure will drop as a result of the ordinary application of brakes through the engineers valve. 5

The accompanying drawings illustrate my invention. Figure 1 is a vertical section on line 1-1 of Fig. 2 and Fig. 2 a vertical section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

In the drawings, 10 indicates a chamber communicating through passage 11 with the train line. One end of chamber 10 is enlarged to form a cylinder 12, in which piston 13 is mounted. The stem 11 of piston 13 engages a sliding D-valve 15 mounted in chamber 10 and cooperating with passages 16, 17 and 18.

Communicating with cylinder 13 is a cylinder 19 which isof larger diameter than the cylinder12 and partially separated from cylinder 12 by means of a ring 20adapted to be engaged around its central perforation by the leather face of piston 13, so that said piston may serve to close communication between the two cylinders 12 and 19.

Cylinder 19 is formed in a casing member 21 provided with an axial bore 22' which receives in its outer end a plug 23 having an axial bore 21. Plug 23 is packed by a pack-- ing gland 25 and incasing the outer end of plug 23 is a cap 26 which is screwed upon casing member 21 and forms a chamber 27 in communication with bore 21. A passage 28 forms communication between chamber 27 and passage 18.

Mounted in cylinder 19 is a piston 30 which is adapted to .be engaged by the stem of piston 13. Leading from the cylinder 19 between pistons 30 and 13 is a groove 31 to atmosphere. Associated with piston 30 is a valve 32 adapted to seat upon the, inner end of bore 21. A compression-spring 33 lies between piston 30 and valve 32, but said parts are shouldered at 31 in such manner that if the spring 33 should break, valve 32 may act upon piston 30 to drive it to its abnormal position. Spring 33 will be caused, by adjusting plug 23, to exert upon piston 30 a considerable pressure which,however, will be somewhat less per square inch than the pressure to which the train line pressure drops under ordinary brake application through the 'engineersvalve, say 10 pounds per square inch.

' Communicating with chamber 10 is -a chamber 35 which communicates through passage 36 with a chamber 37 which is in communication with atmosphere. Associated with passage 36 is a valve seat which is presented inwardly into chamber 35 and normallyresting upon this-valve seat is a check valve 38 normally held down by a spring 39. Formed below chamber 37 is a cylinder 10, in which is mounted a piston 11, having a piston rod 12 which is projected upwardly through the partition separating chamber 37 from cylinder 10 and engages the lower end of the stem of the check I valve 38.

Passage 17 leads into a cylinder 45 in which is mounted piston 46. Piston 16 engages a D-valve 47 which cooperates with passages at and a9. Valve 17 lies in a chambcr'50 which is connected to an auxiliary reservoir. A bleed passage 51 forms a bleeding connection between cylinder 15 through chamber 50 and the auxiliary reservoir when the valve 46 is in its normal position, shown in Fig. 1.

Passage 48 communicates with the lower end of cylinder 10 and passage 49 communicates with atmosphere, these two passages being so arranged at their point of entry into chamber 50 that the D-valve 17 may connect them or may uncover passage 48110 the auxiliary reservoir through chamber 50.

The operation is as follows: The appa ratus is connected through passage 11 with the train llne at the rear of the tram. Upon establishment of train line pressure, the

parts will assume the positions indicated in the drawings, train line pressure entering chamber 10 and driving piston 13 to the right, this piston coming into contact with ring 20 and closing communication between cylinders 12 and 19. The movement of piston 13 to the right drives piston 30 to the right against the pressure of spring 33. Valve 32 is normally seated so as to close the inner end of bore 2%. Thisvalve is of smaller diameter than the piston 30, so that train line pressure established in chamber 27 through passages 18 and 28 from chamber 10, will not normally unseat it. Train line pressure also passes through passage 17 into cylinder l5 and drives piston 16 to the left, so as to shift the D-valve 4:7 to establish communication from the lower end of cylin der 10 through passages 18 and 4:9, with atmosphere. Train line pressure bleeds from cylinder a5 through passage 51 and chamber 50 to the auxiliary reservoir.

Under normal application of the brakes through operation of the engineers valve, the train line pressure will not be reduced below the strength of spring 33 and there will, therefore, be no operation of my device under ordinary conditions. If, however, for any reason, the train line pressure is re duced below the strength of spring 33, said spring immediately pushes piston 30 to the left and pushes piston 13 in the same direction, due to the fact that piston 30 is of greater area than piston 13. This movement will shift the D-valve 15 so as to disconnect passage 17 from chamber 10 and connect it through passage 16 to atmosphere, whereupon there is a sudden reduction of pressure in cylinder 4:5 and the pressure from the auxiliary reservoir serves to drive piston 16 to the right, thus shifting D-valve 47 so as to disconnect passage 48 from atinosphere and connect it through chamber 50 with the auxiliary reservoir pressure; whereupon, the auxiliary reservoir pressure passing through passage 18 into the lower end of cylinder a'PO, shifts piston 11 upwardly so as to unseat check valve 38 and thereby establishing communication between the train line and atmosphere through passage 11, chamber 10 and passages 85, 36 and chamber 37, thereby setting the brakes in all of that portion of the system, which has an open train line.

It will be seen that if a train line cock is closed at any point, the operation of my device will only set the brakes to the rear of this closed train line car and will not set the brakes forward of that point. If, therefore, the engineer finds a portion of his brakes set and the brakes on the engine are not-set, he knows immediately that the condition has been caused by the automatic operation of my device and that there is a closed train line cock somewhere in the train line. If, on the other hand, the engine brakes are also set, the engineer knows that the automatic operation ofmy device has been caused by a lapped brake valve, a pump failure, or an abnormal train line pressure loss throughout the line because of some other defect.

In any event, a drop of train line pressure below normal conditions will serve to automatically set the brakes wherever that drop has occurred, and the engineer, therefor, is automatically notified and is unable to move his train until the abnormal condition has been eliminated.

There is always the possibility that a compression spring may break and, therefore, I have provided the valve 32 already de scribed. It will be noted that if spring should break, the train line pressure in chamber 27, acting upon valve 32, will unseat it and permit the train line pressure to act upon piston 30, so as to drive piston 13 to the left exactly as would. occur in case of diminution of pressure in chamber 10, and thuscause a setting of the brakes.

I claim as my invention:

1. An air brake applying safety valve-cont prising a connection for train line, an exe haust port communicating with said train line connection, a check valve normally closing said exhaust port, pressure controlled means for lifting said check valve from its seat, train line pressure controlled means for controlling the application of opening pressure to the check valve, and a spring acting upon said train line pressure in the direction opposite to the application of train line pressure, whereby the effective operation of the spring will result in opening the check valve.

2. An air brake applying safety valve comprising a connection for train line, an

exhaust port communicating with said train line connection, a check valve normally closing said exhaust port, means for normally holding said check valve seated, a piston acting upon said check valve to open it, means for applying auxiliary reservoir pressure to said piston, a valve con-trolling access to said means, a piston for shifting said valve, a valve for controlling flow of train line pressure to and from said piston, a piston acted upon in one direction by train line pressure connected to said last-mentioned valve, and a spring acting upon said piston in opposition to train line pressure.

3. An air brake applying safety valve comprising a connection for train line, an exhaust port communicating with said train line connection, a check valve normally closing said exhaust port, means for normally holding said check valve seated, a piston acting upon said check valve to open it, means for applying auxiliary reservoir pressure to said piston, a valve controlling access to said means, a piston for shifting said valve, a valve for controlling flow of train line pressure to and from said piston, a piston acted upon in one direction by train line pressure connected to said last-mentioned valve, a piston of greater area acting upon said valve-controlling piston in a direction opposite to the direction of train line pressure, a spring acting upon said larger piston in the aforesaid direction, a check valve normally closing communication between train line pressure and the said larger piston, and normally held in closed position by said sprin 4. An air brake supplying safety valve comprising a connection for train line, a

valve chamber communicating with said connectlon, a piston mounted in said chamber,

a primary valve connected to said piston,

a secondary valve chamber having a communication with an auxiliary reservoir, a cylinder having a bleed pass connection with said secondary valve chamber, a piston mounted in said cylinder, a secondary valve mounted in the secondary valve chamber and connected with said last-mentioned piston,

a passage controlled by the primary valve for connecting the primary valve chamber with the secondary cylinder, a piston for acting upon the check valve in opening direction, a cylinder containing said piston, a passage connecting said last-mentioned cylinder and the secondary valve chamber in position to be controlled by the secondary valve, and a spring acting upon the firstmentioned piston in a direction opposite to train line pressure.

5. An air brake supplying safety valve comprising a connection for train line, a valve chamber communicating with said connection, a piston mounted in said chamber, a primary valve connected to said piston, a secondary valve chamber having a communication with an auxiliary reservoir, a cylinder having a bleed-pass connection with said secondary valve chamber, a piston mounted in said cylinder, a secondary valve mounted in the secondary valve chamber and connected with said last-mentioned piston, a passage controlled by the primary valve for connecting the primary valve chamber with the secondary cylinder, a piston for acting upon the check valve in opening direction, a cylinder containing said piston, a passage connecting said last-mentioned cylinder and the secondary valve chamber in position to be controlled by the secondary valve, a piston acting upon the primary piston in a direction opposite to train line pressure, a passage connecting with the primary valve chamber, a cylinder containing the last-mentioned piston and communicating with said last-mentioned passage, a valve closing said communication, and a spring arranged between said valve and said lastmentioned piston to normally hold said valve closed and to act upon the piston in a direction opposite to the action of train line pressure upon the primary piston.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Indianapolis, Indiana, this second day of August, A. D. one thousand nine hundred and eighteen.

JOHN E. STIEGELMEYER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

